Medical Collections - same (paid or unpaid?!)

[Krystie1984]

I was recently trying to purchase a house when a sudden drop occurred due to a medical collections for a hospital bill from my daughter, 3. The balance was left from insurance and I wasn't aware of the bill. I called OC and they had no knowledge of the collections/bill/debt. I called CA (ACEI) and they said they will not do "PDF" stating that would be reporting untrue information and they are not allowed to do it. Now my question is - should I pay the debt, it's already on my credit, and the effect on my credit is the same whether it's paid or unpaid, correct? Or should I attempt to pay the OC and have them remove from collections - which CA said can happen, but more than likely it will just be noted that it was paid and they (CA) will update has paid and nothing will be removed. I feel like I should take the $231 for the debt and pay down credit cards instead of paying off the collections if it has no effect on the score if its paid. any advice?!

[DaBears]

If the OC is claiming they have no idea about the account being in collection or record, and the CA just added to your credit file I would fire off a DV letter asap and send it CMRRR. Paid or unpaid collections will make no difference to Fico scoring as Fico scores it as a collection. The CA will have 30 days to validate.

[Krystie1984]

I did disputed via EQ and it's due to be complete today or tomorrow - I found out end of last month about the debt - Should I still send DV form to CA and OC? Do you have a DV letter that I should/could use?

[DaBears]

I would wait for the dispute to be completed through the CRA first. If they haven't responded yet, more than likely it will be deleted.

This is a DV to CA's. Don't send a DV to a OC.

"I pulled my credit bureau report, and I discovered that you claim I owe you a debt. Under FCRA 809, send me validation of this debt."

[Krystie1984]

Thanks I will wait - EQ says estimated completion date is 7.25.13 so I am hoping to get that email soon - if that doesn't do anything than I will try sending a DV thanks again

[DaBears]

Anytime

[Krystie1984]

Ok the EQ dispute report came back today - 3 of my negative reports were deleted - One was a duplicate and two others where from 2003 and 2005 that on MyFico had negative indicators - I had two Medical Collections, but for my minor daughter. I disputed both one was deleted  but the other came back verified. What should I do at this point - When I call the OC they don't have a record on file, but CA clearly has all the documentation saying that additional information has been provided from the OC. Should I contact them again with the account number given to me from credit report and ask them to pull it back from CA, and I will pay in full and 2) for the collections that was deleted it was unpaid and when I contacted the OC they told me to pay the CA not them they no longer held the account - so my question is should I pay it so it doesn't appear again in the future or just leave it alone? Also will the negative indicator accounts affect my credit score in any way since they were old?!

[guiness56]

If they are collections, though they age with time, they can still affect your score.  How old are you talking about?  If it is older than 7.5 years from date of service it can no longer be reported.

[Krystie1984]

The two collections are both for my daughter  - one was from 2010/11 and one from last Dec -  but after they deleted it, your saying they can readd it - so I should pay the one off that was deleted - and what about the other collections can I call the OC to  have them retract the collections and pay them directly?

[guiness56]

If you are financially responsible for them, yes, they can.  Since they were deleted due to a dispute, the CRAs would need to notify you of the reinsertion.

You can see if they OC can retract them.  They can only do this if they still own the debts.

I would pay the ones deleted for an agreement not to report again.